River had run for a long time towards the jungle. Every time she would see the blur of the person running in front of her and she would follow it. Sometimes, the person would disappear completely. She would stop, p*anting, to look at the surroundings to pick up the scent of the person who she was following. It was a strong mint smell mixed with that of moss and… decay. It was odd.
“Who the hell are you?” she shouted at the person, hoping to see him or her, as she stood beneath a dense canopy. Just as she was scanning the forest, she heard rustle of dry leaves. Twigs snapped under the heavy footsteps. She snapped her head towards the right from where she heard the sounds. Suddenly, she saw a woman with golden hair in a pink shirt and jeans. “Rosalie?” River rasped as a shudder of panic passed through her. She scoffed. “Who else were you thinking would be?”
River’s panic turned into a full blast of fury. She snarled, her wolf trying to come out. “Where is Mia? What did you do to her?” She recalled that she had smelled Mia’s blood on the floor at Howard’s house. And just after that there was a loud thud of the door. River was chasing Rosalie all the time.
Rosalie chuckled. “I did what had to be done to lure you.”
“Lure me?” Her words shocked her for a fraction of a second but after that she understood Rosalie’s plan. “You are doing all this for some f*ucking revenge?”
Rosalie narrowed her eyes. She snarled, “Revenge is an understatement, b*itch. Because of you my whole life turned upside down. My friends had started ridiculing me, my parents hated me and not only that, because of you my careful planning of years went down the drain just like that! So this is not revenge, this comeuppance. Your comeuppance. You came into my life and rendered me useless in my own pack. Had you not been there, I would have become Hunter’s Luna and I would have enjoyed the luxuries of the castle!” She paused as her c*hest rose and fell. “Now look at me. I have become a woman who everyone hates!”
River clenched her teeth so h*ard that they hurt. She took a step forward, her Alpha wolf trying to come out and tear apart the Lycan in front of her. “Rosalie,” she said in a menacing voice, baring her fangs. “Get this into your thick head once and for all—Hunter was never yours. You tried to push yourself into his life. You never loved Hunter. You only loved the luxury and the money that came with him. Your words reek of greed. You didn’t want him, you wanted this position and the power that came with it. Hunter found his mate, which is me. And we both love each other. We both can go to any lengths to protect each other.”
“Oh shut your rotten m*outh!” Rosalie yelled. “You enticed Hunter. You should have been his b*reeder and not his Luna!”
“You shut up!” River growled. “Seeing the way you turned out to be, I am glad that Hunter didn’t choose you. You are not ridiculed because you were rejected by Hunter, you are ridiculed because of your actions. Always remember that. The servants in the castle have told me so many times that they hated you. They hated you because you were bullying all of them. You didn’t even once show empathy.” River stopped and glared at Rosalie. But she seemed like she had lost all reasoning. Her eyes were like that of a maniac.
“You can go to hell, River!” Rosalie shouted.
“Tell me where Mia is,” River steered the conversation to the more important subject.
Rosalie chuckled. “Mia is somewhere you would never know!” She started walking back. “I will never tell you where she is.”
“I am going to k*ill you!” River snarled.
“For that you have to catch me!”
River’s fangs elongated and so did her claws. Her wolf was on the surface.
‘Let me come out, River; Gia said. ‘I want to shred her to pieces.’
‘We are pregnant. Won’t it affect the cub?’ River said, her voice laced with worry.
‘I won’t let our pup get hurt, River. I know how to shift when I am carrying my mate’s child.’
After a moment River said, ‘Then wait for my cue, Gia.’
‘Okay.’
River saw Rosalie walking back as if challenging her to catch her. River dashed after her and she had gone only a few meters ahead when she screamed as earth beneath her sank and she rolled and tumbled into a pit.
“Hunterrrr!” she screamed as she continued to roll down. When she managed to get up, and looked up, she saw Rosalie standing at the edge of the pit. Covered with mud and leaves and twigs, River managed to get up on her wobbly knees. ‘My pup…’ she cried to Gia.
‘Safe,’ Gia replied.
River closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. When she opened her eyes, she growled, “You tricked me.”
Rosalie shrugged. “You guessed it right.” She took a gun out and shot a dart at River. It all happened so soon that River didn’t get a chance to dodge it. The dart lodged in her t*high. River turned her gaze to the dart as she stumbled back. Within a few minutes, she lost consciousness and darkness surrounded her. When she woke up next, every part of her b*ody was aching. She tried to move her arms but they were tied. She tried to move her l*egs, but they were also tied. She forced open her eyes to see where she was and saw that she was in a dimly lit room that smelled of moss and damp. She was sitting on a chair, her arms and l*egs tied with thick ropes so many times that it was impossible for her to move. She felt groggy, as if she was drugged. And right in front of her was Mia.
Relief flooded her when she heard the steady sound of her heartbeat. Mia was also tied in a similar way but she appeared to be heavily drugged. Her hair was disheveled and there was an injury on her forehead that was healing River connected the dots. So, it was Rosalie who attacked Mia and then brought her here. But what was her motivation for kidnapping Mia?
“Mia!” she called her, but her voice came hoarse and as a whisper. Mia’s head lolled to the other side in response. “Mia!” she called her again, her t*hroat hurting. Mia’s head lolled again.
